Respect, Obedience, Flexibility and Adapting in Diaconal Ministry
Re-ordered the terms “Do you promise RESPECT and OBEDIENCE to me and my successors?” “Respect” comes first, then “obedience” Both go beyond the common meanings given them
“RESPECT” RE + SPICERE, SPECTUS (Latin) To look back upon, or, To look at frequently
Not the sense of “esteem” To consult, to consider again Example: “With respect to your last point” = “let’s look at that point again” A sense of perspective, point of view
“OBEDIENCE” OB + AUDIRE (Latin) To act upon what is heard
Sailors: “Aye, aye, sir!” Why? First “aye” = I have heard the order Second “aye” = I will carry it out Not simply passive acceptance, but an active response
Consider Rom 16:25-27 The revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed… to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen. [
Back to Ordination: What is Being Asked?
This simple act. . . . Mutuality, a new relationship between ordinand and bishop, ordinand and the diocesan church (“my successors”); incardination Recognition of the presence of the Holy Spirit through the sacrament of Holy Orders in both the ordinand and the bishop A sense of freedom and peace
A little history: Historical Roots in Feudalism
“ Oboedientia et Pax ”
On to flexibility and adaptability
Cardinal Walter Kasper "The Diaconate" in Leadership in the Church: How Traditional Roles Can Serve the Christian Community Today (NY: Crossroad, 2003)
A “perceptive eye” This basic attitude of the deacon must "include a perceptive eye for those suffering distress, illness, or fear. The task is to bring a healing that sets free and empowers them to trust and so to serve and love others in their turn." (p.40)
LG29: "… supremely necessary for life of the Church." “The goal of diaconal activity is not simply help, but the empowering of life, so that those who lie prostrate may get to their feet. . . . In some situations, the deacon can and must become the public advocate of the weak and powerless and of all those who have no other voice or lobby .” (p. 40)
Concrete tasks…. The deacon = "contact partner" for all those in need & they must be able to look confidently to him for help. Since his ministry includes word-worship- charity, deacon can make others aware of connection between faith and life. "In his ministry of the altar, he lays the needs of human beings on the eucharistic table, and naturally he also speaks of these needs when he preaches. He must make the parish aware of urgent situations of need, motivating them to share with one another and to give practical help."
More concrete tasks One essential task consists in finding, training, and guiding volunteers, concentrating more on accompanying them professionally, personally, and spiritually…. Ideally, the deacon should initiate and support self-help groups, e.g., for single parents or drug addicts. Note that this cuts across church boundaries!
Still more…. More than the parish. Assigned to a parish, but with a broader scope as well: city, deanery, region LEADERSHIP: “as the official representative of the community” he is the obvious contact person for regional Catholic charity organizations and health centers. He should be represented in ecumenical diaconal associations.
Finally…. "Deacons of a diocese also form an advisory body that can be the bishop's eyes and ears with respect to human needs, and they can help him to be the ‘father of the poor’”
10 Points to Ponder: #1 Ordained diaconate is a RADICAL commitment to share in Christ's kenotic mission Reflection: How "kenotic" is my own approach to ministry?
10 Points to Ponder: #2 Ordination is also a share of the bishop's apostolic ministry: "eyes, ears, heart, soul" of the bishop Relationship with the bishop is critical "Let loose the Deacons!": Are they ready?
10 Points to Ponder: #3 Points #1 & #2 Get out of our comfort zones; diaconate is RISK Will what I'm doing now help prevent another Dachau?
10 Points to Ponder: #4 Ordination means LEADERSHIP Vision, hope, inspiration, challenge, pouring out oneself for others Willing/capable of leadership?
10 Points to Ponder: #5 Don't get stuck in old patterns of ministry; be creative; risk creating new forms of ministry E.g., Preaching: but with a difference! Truck stop ministry, Apostleship of the Sea….
10 Points to Ponder: #6 Don't get co-opted into another's share of ministry (priests or laity) DMLPD 40
DLMPD 40: In every case it is important that deacons fully exercise their ministry: in preaching, in liturgy and in charity to the extent that circumstances permit. They should not be relegated to marginal duties, be made merely to act as substitutes, nor discharge duties normally entrusted to non-ordained members of the faithful.
10 Points to Ponder: #7 Be Mobile: Stir the pot, enable, empower, let go, move on. Example of St. Paul
10 Points to Ponder: #8 Always think and act WITH the Church; develop a mens ecclesiae . Pope Francis: listen to ENTIRE Church Know how to use our sources, especially Scripture, Vatican II, etc.
10 Points to Ponder: #9 Minister everywhere (not just "in the Church" but in whole community) Deacon's ministry in the sanctuary is critically important BECAUSE of what he's doing outside the sanctuary, and vice versa
10 Points to Ponder: #10 Balance, balance, balance! Triple munus Priorities: “avoid the heresy !”
Deacon Thomas Merton "The first thing about the diaconate is that it is big. The more I think about it the more I realize that it is a Major Order. You are supposed to be the strength of the Church. You receive the Holy Spirit ad robur , not only for yourself, but to support the whole Church."
Bishop Augustine "For you I am Bishop, with you I am Christian. The first is the title of the office I received, the second is by grace; the first implies danger, the second salvation"
Prayer of the Chalice
Father, to Thee I raise my whole being, a vessel emptied of self. Accept Lord, this my emptiness, and so fill me with Thyself-- Thy Light, Thy Love, Thy Life-- that these precious gifts may radiate through me and over- flow the chalice of my heart into the hearts of all with whom I come in contact this day, revealing unto them the beauty of Thy Joy and Wholeness and the Serenity of Thy Peace which nothing can destroy.
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